Poor Man's Capers Recipe

One of the things I love the most about the allotment is that I learn something new everyday there. Not just by my own trial and error, but from the wisdom of the other allotment holders.

Just a few days ago I was collecting Nasturtium seeds with Alyssa so that Katie could dry them and grow them on her plot next year. One of my fellow growers came for a chat and said ahh! poor man's capers? I said they were for seed next year but what are poor man's capers? And she told me how the seeds could be pickled and used as a caper substitute.

So I went home and did some reading and found a perfectly simple recipe to try.

Nasturtiums are just fantastic plants. The leaves are edible and have a mustard flavour that is just fabulous in a ham sandwich or as a salad leaf. The flowers are beautiful and again are edible and I love to put them on a salad to add colour. But the main reason I grow them is as a companion plant to keep the bugs and creepy crawlies off my crops. They happily self seed and spread, so you need to keep an eye on them.

So to find the seeds had a use as well was just brilliant. Today I collected enough seeds to fill a small jam jar and this is how I pickled the seeds.

You will need

Nasturtium seeds, green freshly picked.

White wine vinegar

Black peppercorns slightly crushed

Method

Sterilize the jar and lid

Wash the Nasturtium seeds and pat dry, and fill the jar.

In a pan boil white wine vinegar with 5 or 6 crushed peppercorns and once boiling, pour into the warm sterilized jar of seeds and seal the lid.

Allow to cool and then store in a dark cupboard and they will be ready to use in about 3 months time!

I will have to wait for the verdict, but will let you know what I think and if good will find the perfect recipe to showcase them.

So watch this space!

If you have any unusual or interesting recipes we would really love to hear from you.